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GENERAL WOODHULL 



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AN 



ORATION 



LIFE, CHARACTER, AND PUBLIC SERVICES, 



GEIERAL WATHAIIEL ¥OODHTJLL. 



ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN 



WOODHULL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION 



LUTHER R. MARSH, ESQ., 

OF THE NEW- YORK BAR. 



NEW- YORK : 

LEAVITT, TROW & CO., PRINTERS, 49 ANN-STREET. 

1848. 




ADDEESS, 



To-day we have come together, to do justice to one of the 
Fathers of the RepubUc ; to honor the memory of one who, 
though sleeping well for many years, yet lives in our hearts. 
We would have him live forever in the hearts of his country- 
men. We would raise a pillar, on which the blessed light of 
Heaven may smile, as on an altar raised to virtue — a shrine 
to which patriots shall come and worship. We would plant, 
on this green eaith, a lofty monument, as a lasting witness of 
the beauty of high and heroic deeds. We would have a brave 
mausoleum shine over the dust of departed worth. We would 
present a votive offering to the Protector of the Republic, and 
make the place the Mecca of Liberty. We would record, on 
tablets of stone, our appreciation of the acts and character of 
an American Patriot, and, through him, of those compatriots, 
who, hke him, offered their lives that we might be free. We 
would do an act of justice too long delayed. We would make 
atonement for the neglect of the past. We would render honor 
to whom honor is due. We would establish a perpetual sign 
of a nation's gratitude. We'would rear this high obelisk, in no 
vain spirit of pageantry, but would consecrate it in earnestness 
and truth. 

The justice of a nation, though often long retarded, is al- 
ways sure. She may neglect, or appear to neglect, the memo- 
ry of her Heroes ; but she is gathering strength for a higher 
demonstration. She may omit, for a time, to honor, in the full- 
ness of their merit, those who have honored her ; but the time 
is sure to come, when returning gratitude will beat in the Na- 
tional heart, and beat the stronger for its long repose. The 



4 

doers of great deeds need never fear that they will be forgotten. 
Two hundred years rolled round before the biography of Crom- 
well could be impartially written. But inevitable justice has 
resumed her sway. The world now knows, or is beginning to 
know, how great and good a man is bursting the cerements of 
two centuries, and revealing his true stature to its view. 

They, who were permitted to carry their lives through the 
stormy struggle of the American Revolution — who witnessed 
its triumphant close — who saw every hostile foot removed from 
American Soil — the invading army conquered and humbled — 
the blockading fleets retracing, in defeat, their ocean furrows — 
the crowning peace — the commencement of our National ca- 
reer, a victorious and independent people — were already in part 
repaid for their sacrifices, their dangers and their toils. They 
had, at last, reached the object of their hopes, so stoutly striv- 
en for, so long delayed. The end was gained. The consum- 
mation — their country's freedom — for which property, liberty, 
reputation, life, friends were periled ; for which years of un- 
equal contest were maintained, was at length achieved. They 
had entered into the fruition of their labors. They had no more 
to hope for. They were ready to die on, and to repose in, the 
land their arms made free. They were ready to let the advanc- 
ing generation — their children — direct the peaceful energies of 
the country. The vision of a free people starting on the great 
pathway of Nations — successful rivals, in all the departments 
of life, with the ancient kingdoms of the ancient world — shat- 
tering olden creeds and dusty error— establishing man's right 
to himself, and his capacity to govern himself— this vision, 
which rose before the enraptured eyes of those who saw the 
close of the Revolution, was, in itself, happiness and reward. 

But they who fell on the gloomy morning of that day of 
strife, long before the struggling beams had dissipated the early 
mist — who, in the providence of God, were not permitted to be- 
hold the sun stram up the heavens, ah ! what sacrifices were 
theirs ! To die in combat, and to die in doubt — to feel that all 
might be in vain — that the surrender of their lives might be of 
no avail — that the shadows of uncertainty were flinging them- 
selves far into the future — that they might be forgotten in the 



stirring tumult that was to come — that, if they were remember- 
ed, they might be hailed as patriots, or branded as rebels — it 
was, indeed, at such a time, a hard thing to die. Of these, 
was General Herkimer, who, on the 6th of August, 1777, after 
receiving a mortal wound at Oriskany, died soon after, "like a 
Christian Hero," Of these, was Major General Warren, the 
earliest sacrifice on the altar of American Independence. 

Of these, was General Nathaniel WoodhuU — called to give 
up his life, to close his eyes upon all that was to come, to waive 
the glories of a successful defensive war— a war of principle 
and of right — to relinquish the multitudinous honors which such 
skill and gallantry could not fail to have given him, and, above 
all, to feel that he could no longer raise his voice or his arm, 
for that country which was dearer to him than life. Let us 
honor him, not only for what he was, and what he d[d,butfo?' 
what he would have been, and what he would have done. 

Whether these, early fallen, be permitted, by the sure Re- 
warder of all good deeds, to bend from their starry home, and 
watch the progress of their young Republic, we cannot know. 
If they be, let us, the humble emulators of the great Benefi- 
cence, do our part in accumulating their reward. But if mys- 
terious darkness veils us from their gaze, and they must wait 
to know what their country has become, till they read it on 
the great scroll of human history at its last unfoldings, then, 
God himself has made it our duty, to show Him some enduring 
memorial of our gratitude to Him, /or his Heroes. 

General Nathaniel Woodhull was born at Mastic, Long 
Island, on the 30th of December, 1722, ten years before the 
birth of the Father of his Country. Since then, a century and 
a quarter have rolled into the past. No man, born on that 
day, now survives. Descended from ancestors who were driv- 
en from their native England for their great love of liberty — 
too great for their age — it was natural that every element of 
his manhood should have waked to the battle-cry of liberty as 
it rung through the land. 

A youth of active industry fitted him peculiarly for the 
hardships of the coming struggle ; and an intellect of rare and 
substantial endowment, eminently qualified him for the con- 



6 

spicuous position he was to assume. At the age of thirty-six he 
entered the army as Major, under General Abercrombie, in the 
war between Great Britain and France. He acted his part in 
the bloody day of Ticonderoga. Subsequently, and in the same 
year, he was engaged in the successful expedition against Fort 
Frontinac, and, under superior orders, was compelled to per- 
form that hardest portion of a soldier's duty, to receive the fire 
of the foe without return. 

In 1760, we find him in the capacity of Colonel in the New 
York Provincials, engaged in the conquest of Canada. Again, 
like the old Roman, he returned to his plough. 

In 1769 he was again called into public service, and elected 
to represent, in the Colonial Assembly, the good people of the 
county of Suffolk. It was an important period. It was an 
emergency which called for men of clear heads and strong 
wills. Proceeding from one act of aggression to another 
against the liberties of her colonies, England had, at last, as- 
serted the right to tax them in all cases whatsoever. But the 
Assembly of New-York in 1768 had unanimously resolved, 
that no tax could or ought to be imposed on the persons or es- 
tates of his Majesty's subjects within the colony, but by their 
own free gift, and by their representatives in General Assembly 
— that the rights and privileges of the Legislatures could not be 
abridged, superseded, abrogated or annulled, and that they had 
a right to consult with other colonies in matters wherein their 
liberties might be affected. To maintain these principles the 
people of Suffolk selected Col. WoodhuU as their legislative 
champion, and announced their firm reliance upon their repre- 
sentatives, to preserve their freedom and the control of their 
purses. For six years did Col. WoodhuU devote himself to 
the fulfillment of these momentous duties. 

In April. 1775, as a representative from Suffolk, he appeared 
in the Convention held in the city of New-York, to choose dele- 
gates to the Continental Congress ; and in May of the same 
year, he took part in the proceedings of the Provincial Congress, 
in that city, which, in effect, threw off the regal yoke and as- 
serted its independence. 

In August, 1775, the militia of Suffolk and aueens, under 



the direction of the Provincial Congress, were organized into 
one brigade, under the charge of General Woodhull, 

On the 28th of August, 1775, he was elected President of 
the Provincial Congress, and re-elected the following year. 
Thus, twice was the Commonwealth, in its collected wisdom, 
compelled to resort to the presiding judgment of this great ci- 
vilian. 

But disastrous times were coming, for the infant nation 
stiuggling in its cradle. Lord Howe, with those death-bear- 
ing fleets which have looked into every harbor of the world, at 
last reached our shores ; and those dark hulks, swarming with 
an invading army, and bristling with cannon, were hovering 
around these sister Islands, which have mingled their fortunes 
kindly together during our entire history. Uncertain where 
the blow would fall, the trembling colonies at length saw him 
descend on Long Island, at Bath, then Fort Utrecht. 

To Gen. Woodhull, with a handful of men, was assigned 
the duty of cutting off the sources of sustenance from the reach 
of the invaders ; a duty he performed with great labor and sig- 
nal success. A majority of the inhabitants of Q,ueens county 
still clung to the sceptre. With Royalism at home, and in the 
face of overwhelming numbers of an enemy, well disciplined 
and abundantly provided with all the munitions of war, it 
was no easy task to rouse and combine the militia of the 
Island. With less than a hundred men, the Commander 
stood within reach of large detachments from the main body 
of the foe. Remsen's and Smith's regiments were ordered to 
join him, but they did not come. In obedience to his orders, 
and in the constant expectation of receiving these reinforce- 
ments, he remained less than six miles distant from the English 
camp, and their light-horse sweeping within two miles of his 
position. A strict disciplinarian, he obeyed superior commands. 
But his few soldiers had left their wives and children unpro- 
tected at home, and anxious hearts were beating in their bo- 
soms. Was it strange that this mimic army dwindled away ? 

Then came the disastrous battle of Long Island, in which 
the American army, with frightful loss, was driven to its en- 
trenchments. It was the saddest day in the records of our 



8. 

country. It was the first great reverse in the history of our 
arms. The standard of the Repubhc was trailed in blood and 
defeat. The terrible odds of British numbers, completely arm- 
ed and thoroughly disciplined, prevailed over the raw, untrain- 
ed levies of Long Island, wasted by disease, and inefficient 
through want of arms. 

General Green, who had been charged with the prepara- 
tion, and had reconnoitered, and was familiar with the locali- 
ties, was prostrated by sudden illness, and, when most urgent- 
ly required, his services were lost to the American cause. 

That day, three thousand pillars were torn away, by sacri- 
legious hands, from the Temple of Liberty. History has pro- 
nounced it a Vandal work. The day went down in blood and 
gloom ; and, while terror reigned in the American camp, the 
Gowanus was silently telling its ensanguined story to the sea. 
A day of determination followed ; and the earliest mounting 
sunbeams of the next morning struck the last barge of the 
homely fleet that bore, into security, the retiring patriots. The 
sun rose on the American army, safe on the island of Man- 
hattan, a7id Washington hiTnself stood in the midst of 
them. A greater than Xenophon had covered the retreat of 
the " Ten Thousand," and the Republic was saved. 

But General Woodhull, cut off in the position he was or- 
dered to maintain, from the soldiers of Congress, unaided, 
alone, fell into British power. Upon being commanded to say 
" God save the King,''^ he firmly refused, but replied with the 
nobler sentiment, " God save us alV^ His refusal to comply, 
brought upon him the savage violence of his captors. But, 
though defenceless, assaulted with the sword, severely wound- 
ed in the head, and with an arm mangled and bleeding, " God 
save us all,^^ was the only benediction that could be hacked 
from his lips. While he would acknowledge no kingly mono- 
poly of the blessing of God, he would recognize no kingly ex- 
clusion, even of an enemy — " God save us all" king and 
subject, friend and foe, the victor and the vanquished, the pri- 
soner and the free, the living and the dead. " God save us 
all." Here was a breadth of philanthropy which knew no 
exception. Here was the teaching of our Savior carried into 



practice. Here was the mingling of courage, patriotism and 
religion. While he invoked the Divine blessing upon all, he 
would admit neither exclusion nor exclusive right — a sublime 
spectacle ! He would not yield the sentiment ; he would sooner 
yield his life. At the risk of death he clung to his faith, and 
gave up his life for a deathless principle. Mortally wounded 
— thrown with eighty of his countrymen into one of those 
terrible prison ships, where the well grew sick, and the sick 
died, he calmly awaited the hour of death. At last, some sur- 
geon or other told him that this hacked arm must be cut off, — 
that arm which he had so often raised in debate, and in bat- 
tle for his country. Before the amputation, he sent for his 
wife, with a request that she should bring with her all the 
money she had, and all she could get. The dying man dis- 
tributed his beneficence among his fellow-sufferers, embraced 
his wife, uttered a prayer for his country, and died. He re- 
ceived his mortal wound in an act of patriotism, and breathed 
his last breath in an act of charity. His death was in keeping 
with his hfe. He who would die for a principle, might be 
expected to use his last hour in the cause of humanity. 
" God save us all," — a motto by which it was religious to 
live, and glorious to die. 

But his mission on earth was not yet ended. Though 
dead, he had not yet finished his service to his country. He was 
a tower of strength to the patriotic cause, even in his grave. 
The barbarity of his death brought converts and recruits to the 
American arms. Major Crew, of the British army, threw up 
his commission in disgust. Indignation mingled with love of 
country, in the breasts of the American troops. The lukewarm 
were animated, the doubtful confirmed, the true man fired with 
new ardor. He who was no longer alive to guard and to di- 
rect, was, from his resting place, summoning strength to the 
American cause. The prayer — " God save us all" — seemed 
to issue from his tomb, and inspire with new ardor the faithful 
and the brave. Let not his voice yet cease. Let him still 
speak to us from the spirit-land. Let him from this majestic 
tower proclaim to all posterity that sentiment of universal love 
— " God save us all." Let it be inscribed in imperishable 



10 

characters upon the hardest rock of his monument, that it may- 
meet the eye, and fill the ear of the world — " God save 
us all." 

The year that witnessed the martyrdom of Woodhull, was 
the most hopeless period of the war. The hopes of freemen, 
by an unbroken series of successes, had been raised to exalta- 
tion to be dashed the lower. The intellectual contest, which 
had existed for ten years, between the English Government 
and her Colonies, was appealed, in 1775. from the tribunal of 
debate to that of arms. A few provincials at Concord, fired 
the great magazine of American patriotism. The flames flew 
from Massachusetts to New-York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. All classes, and each 
sex, partook the general enthusiasm. Even the " Old Men's 
Company" of Dutchmen, with their centennial captain and 
emblems of crape, tottered into action. Every where (except 
under the massive walls of Gluebec), at Lexington, at Ticon- 
deroga, at Crown Point, at Skeenesborough, at Bunker Hill, 
at Great Bridge, at Fort Saint John, our banner waved in tri- 
umph. The year 1776 came upon England, fairly beaten. 
She could not, with her own forces alone, maintain the contest. 
She was driven to supplicate for aid at the feet of other 
thrones. She offered to pour her gold into the frozen lap of 
Russia, and besought the Empress Catherine for twenty thou- 
sand of those troops who had won renown in Turkish war, 
that she might launch them on American shores. But from 
amidst the dazzling icebergs, came the voice of stern refusal. 
She then prostrated herself before the United Provinces, but 
the Dutch gave her a humihating denial. At last she was 
successful in her search for mercenary warriors, with the 
Houses of Hesse and Brunswick. 

Then was displayed the grandeur of the American pa- 
triots. Troubles came thick and fast upon them. The failure 
of the Canadian expedition, the defeat on Long Island, the 
death of Woodhull, the occupation of New- York by British 
troops, the reduction of Fort Washington, the surrender of 
Fort Lee, the capture of General Lee, the disasters on Lake 
Champlain, the retaking of Crown Point and the overrunning 



11 

lofNew Jersey, had dispirited the nation. England, Ireland, 
Hesse, Brunswick and Waldeck poured their equipped and 
disciplined swarms over the land. The American army, un- 
paid, unprovided, reduced, fragmented — a mere phantom — 
was falling back from one position to another, as the haughty 
foe advanced over American soil. This was a time when the 
^' blackness of darkness" hung over the prospects of patriot- 
ism. But Congress anchored a sublime faith in the justice of 
their cause. Despair was a word unknown. All looked up 
to George Washington with confidence and hope. Extraordi- 
nary powers were conferred npon him ; and, suddenly, on 
Christmas night, through the ice of the Delaware and amidst 
the snows of Trenton, the American army, with their great 
leader at their head, plunged into the astonished camp of the 
invaders and wrested victory from their grasp. 

Since the time I have spoken of, the Genius of Progress, that 
kindred spirit of Liberty, has looked kindly npon us. Propi- 
tious peace has filled the land with plenty. Three millions of 
people have become twenty millions. The feeble infant has 
grown to gianthood. Our long line of coast is now protected 
by walls of men. In our far-stretching harbors, then stran- 
gers to all but threatening keels, ten thousand vessels, " with 
their wavering shadows, are riding at anchor." Our com- 
merce, then unknown, now covers the seas, and pervades the 
lands. Our rapid rivers, and our ocean-lakes, that rippled only 
to the glancing oar, now part and groan beneath their myriad 
argosies. Our form of Government has become the model by 
which the gray dynasties of Europe are fashioning themselves. 
Our stalwart borderers have hewn their way through the 
majestic forest, surmounted the rocky barriers, and paused only 
at the Pacific surge. The track of the moccason is under the 
setting sun. The plough turns up the rusty tomahawk, and 
the ox treads on the fields of the slain. Cities and villages, 
with golden vales and smiling hills between — nature's rich 
mosaic — gem the broad continent, and sparkle in the sun. 
The clank of enginery, in place of the cannon's crash, now 
vibrates through the land. On the track where the American 
army might have been traced by the blood of their unshod 



12 

feet, the self-propelling steed of steam now foams and tramps 
upon his iron path. Our thoughts are carried on the light- 
ning's wing. 

We have given cordial welcome to the oppressed. We 
have secured a free press, free speech, free conscience. Our 
scholars have gathered the knowledge of the past, and spread 
new fields of learning to the eye. Science has opened her ex- 
haustless armory and bid us enter and choose. We have wooed 
and won the arts. We have dotted the land with schools, and 
filled it with temples to the living God. 

For these, our Fathers fought. For these, they resisted 
British power — endured cold, heat, hunger, privation, peril, 
wounds, captivity and death. 

Can we think of them too often or too much ? Can we 
too frequently recount their deeds, or hymn their praises on 
too many harps ? Let us watch, the rather, that we do not 
" steep our senses in forgetfulness," nor let the dews of Lethe 
fall on our memories. 

Monarchists have said, that " Republics are ungrateful." 
The saying has gone into the royalist creed. It is of the pro- 
verbs of Crowns. Many instances may be selected, in all 
countries and forms of government, where the bestowments 
of reward have not come up to the requirements of merit. 
But this is not peculiarly so with Republics. 

A young and chivalric Frenchman left his wealth, his 
friends, his country, and enrolled himself under the American 
banner. Bravely he went through the Revolution in devotion 
to Freedom. The Republic gave him a million of francs, and 
wide tracts of its domains. When, many years after, he in- 
dicated an intention to revisit the scenes of his valor, the en- 
tire nation, by their representatives in Congress assembled^ 
requested the President to communicate to Major General the 
Marquis La Fayette, the assurance of grateful and affectionate 
attachment still cherished for him by the government and 
people of the United States. They also directed that a Na- 
tional vessel should be sent to bring him to the country. 
When he came, the American people rose to do him honor, 
and thronged to press his hand. His progress was a continu- 



13 

ous triumph. He became the guest of America. When it 
was known that he was dead, the government went into 
mourning, and the people, every where, mingled their tears 
with the Republicans of France. 

Another illustration : — The Republic devoted two millions 
of acres to the brave soldiers of the Revolution, and their heirs. 
For thirty years she has rewarded her surviving defenders 
with liberal pensions. For this purpose, many millions have 
gone from the public treasury. The benefits of this, continue 
to be reaped by thousands at the present day. Pensions, it 
is true, have not been poured with lavish hands into the laps 
of favorites, swelling a few enormous fortunes, and helping 
to roll up, high, heavy, and dreary, a national debt, to beggar 
posterity, and crush the life from coming generations. To do 
justice, the Republic has not done injustice. She has not done 
good by evil means. She has not seized what she had no 
right to seize, the labor, the hope, the happiness of posterity. 
But such as she might do, she has done. Such as she might 
rightfully give, she has given. She has not bequeathed the 
property of others. But what was hers to bestow — the re- 
sources she could command, and the treasures of the hearts of 
her people — these she has freely given. 

Let us add another refutation to this slander upon free go- 
vernments. Let us adduce another proof to the world that 
the memory of our Republic is not short — that her heart is 
not cold — that eternal verdure covers the tombs of her great 
and her good men, and undimmed love and veneration settle 
on their names. 

There have come down to us, from earlier time, stupen- 
dous monuments, whose origin is lost in their antiquity. But 
by the best conjectures of history, they were extorted from the 
labor of subjugated peoples to deify their tyrants' names. 

The labor of successive generations must have been wrung 
out to build these heaven-kissing piles. How many sighs and 
tears and groans were mir)gled with the uprearing structures, 
and buried under their Gibraltar weight, we cannot tell. But 
not of such is the pillar whose summit we propose to raise in- 
to the sky. For this purpose, no throned monarch commands 



14 

the muscles of an unwilling people. No merciless taskmaster 
enforces reluctant obedience to his commands. No tribute is 
wrung from the happiness of the present generation, to com- 
mand the admiration of the next, or to memorize a name, 
known only by those deeds " which may define a tyrant."' 
But it is a willing, a voluntary, a spontaneous creation. It is 
a free-will offering of an unforgetting people. By their sover- 
eign will it rises ; upon their willing gratitude it stands. And 
far m&re certain is it to carry down, associated with it while 
it may remain, the name of him whose character it illustrates, 
than were those forced productions of the past, whose builders' 
names the world has " willingly let die." 

It is good to see the blended thankfulness, admiration and 
gratitude of a great people, embody itself in columnal stone. 
Let them take this stately form, as enduring as the primal hill 
on which it is to stand. It shall rise upon the brow of the 
continent, the first object to greet the sight of the tired mariner 
as he approaches America, the last to linger on his gaze, as 
he recedes from the occidental world. The fleets of all nations, 
converging to this ample harbor, shall be guided in their com- 
ing by this monumental tribute, erected by our country to her 
early and venerated martyr. The civilization and humanity 
of jthe age are better represented by this monument to the 
dead, than by the most profuse praises of the living. It is not 
a silent column — an unsuggestive tower. It speaks. It car- 
ries ideas to the mind of the beholder, as forcibly as if it pro- 
claimed them from its mouth of rock, in thunderous and 
articulate sounds. It rouses the intellect, captivates the im- 
agination, and thrills the heart. On beholding it, the history of 
the Revolution — the deeds of our fathers — their hard-won 
triumphs — the incidents in the life of him whose name this 
monument embalms, all throng upon us and press for utterance. 
It shall look out upon the blue waters that roll beneath it, and 
beckon hither those who fly from the persecutions and oppres- 
sions of agitated Europe. 

Those who shall escape from the cruelties of the old world, 
to the hospitalities of the new, may first rest their weary gaze 
upon this lasting memento to one, whose efforts and life were 



15 

devoted to making his land the asyhim for all. It shall stand, 
the granite Emblem of American Gratitude — the testimonial 
of great deeds, justly appreciated — itself a high reward, and 
pointing' to a higher. It shall summon the noblest aspirations 
of American youth. It shall stir the desire in the breast of 
every American to deserve well of his country ; not till need 
be, in lurid war, for the days of peace are on us, God grant, 
long to remain ; but in the domains of the useful and the good. 
It shall remain near the spot where he, whose name it conse- 
crates, received his mortal wound, borne by the Earth, through 
all her circling orbit. It shall stand, sustaining, midway, the 
chain of patriotic feeling which stretches from the summit of 
the monument of Washington to that of Bunker Hill. Let it 
stand through the ages, an eternal beacon on the gaze of mil- 
lions. 

" Sublimely mingling with the skies, 
Let the proud cenotaph arise." 

A few words should be devoted to a description of the 
Monument itself Its site is conspicuous and appropriate — an 
elevated bluff, singularly fortunate for the boundless and mag- 
nificent amphitheatre which extends beneath. The unaided 
eye takes in a large part of these twin Islands, with New Jer- 
sey and the ocean. The frowning Palisades, New- York, Wil- 
liamsburgh, Jamaica, Rockaway, Neversink, the Narrows, and 
an unobstructed semicircle of land and sea, lie under the view. 
The unresting Atlantic spreads itself before it, and, at times, 
a hundred ships sail on the view. Perhaps no other place 
on the continent could be selected, where a lofty Monument 
would be seen by so many Americans and foreigners approach- 
ing the country. The hill where the Monument is to stand, 
is the very ground General Woodhull was commissioned by 
the Convention of New York to defend against the public 
enemy ; and here he took his stand. It also overlooks the scene 
hallowed by his martyrdom to the holy cause of Liberty. On 
the morning of the day he fell, he rode over this range of hills 
to stem the tide of desolation that swept down Long Island, 
after the disastrous battle on the Heights of Brooklyn. A more 



16 

appropriate scene for his triumphj in all coming time, could not 
be chosen, than the scene of his heroism, his suffering, and 
his death. 

It is to emerge from the Cemetery of the Cypress Hills — 
the crowning feature of this new NecropoHs. It will stand 
within the gates through which mortality passes to immor- 
tality. To these hallowed mounts will come a hundred 
generations, and trace the records of their ancestral dust. The 
living will visit these chambers of the dead, and think of life, 
of death, and of the life to come. There is no spot of earth 
where the soul is so spiritualized as amid these sanctuaries of 
the dead. It seems a iiear approach to a communion with the 
departed — almost a salutation from the better land. Here the 
lium of business does not come, the cares of life do not invade. 
Here the soul escapes from the frivolities of her temporal state, 
and gains some cheering foretaste of a spiritual life. Here we 
draw aside the cloud-curtains which bound our view, and gaze 
into the pearl-gates of a higher world. From hence we go 
better than we come, impressed with holier feelings, and 
readier for all that is to come. 

A design has been adopted — economical, commodious, and 
permanent. One room is given to Columbus, and illustrations 
of his discoveries ; one to the Pilgrims, and their landing ; 
another to the Cavaliers of Virginia, a fourth to the scholars of 
America, a fifth to the Patriots and Heroes of the Revolution, 
and the wheeling dome of its summit to the Heavens. The 
work will become a National Monument — a great treasure- 
house of Patriotism, Science and History. Within its walls 
may be clustered the choicest gems of art, and the most valua- 
ble illustrations of our history — of the three great classes of 
men who have made up our nation, the Pilgrims of Plymouth 
Rock, the Cavaliers of James River, and the Dutch of New 
Amsterdam and Long Island. While this grand column will 
be reared to transmit forever the memory of the heroic virtues 
of one of the best and purest men of our Revolution, it will 
be stripped of the insignificance and ungenerousness of a sec- 
tional spirit. We wish to raise a National Memorial, in which 
every American, from whatever quarter of this wide land he 



17 

may come, shall recognize a grateful tribute to all that was 
pure, and lofty, and brave, in those dark days of our history, 
when patriotic men, in the midst of the sternest struggles, 
were laying broad and deep the foundations of our national 
glory. 

We should hope, that around such a rallying spot, where 
every American will feel at home, all the patriotic sentiment 
and enthusiasm of the nation would centre and cling, — that 
in these stately halls, which will be forever thrown open to 
the American people, there shall be preserved trophies from 
every field of victory, and emblems of progress from every re- 
gion of science, — that here may be deposited for coming genera, 
tions our historic archives, which from time to time are being 
consumed by the wasting fires that desolate our large towns, — 
that, on great anniversary days. Historical, Scientific, Patriotic, 
Benevolent, and National societies, may come to hold their fes- 
tivals ; where the sons of the Puritans, the Cavaliers, and the 
Knickerbockers, now scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
may assemble and greet each other as brothers. We hope, 
that from the sky-reaching top of this monument, some Ameri- 
can astronomers may yet pierce the hitherto undivided nebulae 
of unexplored constellations, and call new stars by A7nerlcan 
names, — that they may boldly handle the glittering sword of 
Orion, and restore the lost Pleiad to the field of stars. We 
hope that the time may never come, when this Observatory 
shall be required for purposes of defence — when these revolv- 
ing tubes of sight, as they point over the boundless hills where 
continent and empire begin, shall reveal the track of an in- 
vading foe ; or when from this aerial out-look, any hostile 
fleet may come within the range of telescopic vision. Let its 
far-reaching lenses only sweep the emerald ocean, to tell us 
what friendly barks, freighted with the wealth of the old 
world, or bringing news of its fortunes, are coming to our 
shores. 

Peace, then, be to your ashes, Fathers of the Republic. 

Your struggles are over, your sufferings are ended, your 
victory is won. Your dreams are no longer broken by the 
bugle-blast calling you to arms. The tears of loved ones 

2 



18 

are no longer falling on your bosoms in the hour of sepa- 
ration and of death. From the battle-shock, from the charge 
of the foeman, from the disasters of defeat, and the shouts of 
victory, you have passed to your reward. For half a century 
your names have stirred the heroism of the world, and your 
battle-fields have become the Thermopylses of Liberty. Poets 
have borrowed inspiration from your deeds, and orators em- 
balmed your names in eloquence. Statesmen are proud to 
utter the words that fell from your lips, and historians have 
reveled in your glories. While the poet who can call the 
muses from Olympus is writing his epic, and across the page 
of the historian the flash of your chivalry is gleaming — we 
will perform our duty in an humbler sphere, by writing your 
history in rock. 



WOODHULL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. 



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OEIGm AND OEGAMZATION 



WOODHULL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. 



A NUMBER of the citizens of Long Island, believing that 
the time had come, when some lofty and enduring monument 
should be raised to the memory of the heroic Woodhull on the 
soil where he bled and died, issued a call for a General Meet- 
ing, on Wednesday evening (Sept. 6th), at the Brooklyn In- 
stitute. 

At the time appointed a large number of patriotic and pub- 
lic-spirited individuals assembled. Col. Alden Spooner was 
called to the chair, and S. G. Arnold appointed secretary. 

After several eloquent addresses had been delivered, a 
committee was chosen to draft resolutions and report business. 

The following was their Report : — 

1. Resolved, That the time has come, when some suit- 
able monument should be erected to the memory of General 
Nathaniel Woodhull, the Patriot and Hero, who fell a martyr 
to the cause of American Independence, in the bloody struggle 
of the Revolution. 

2. Resolved, That it is not only a duty, but a privilege, 
for us who enjoy the fruits of the heroism and love of country 
which distinguished our Revolutionary Fathers, to unite in so 
solemn and affecting a tribute to their memory ; and that we 



24 

will aid in the consummation of so noble an undertaking as 
the erection of a monument to General Woodhull. 

3. Resolved, That since the Trustees of the Cypress Hills 
Cemetery have offered the ground and volunteered their aid in 
carrying out our design, we commend the enterprise to the 
public, and request all our fellow-citizens to lend it their aid 
and encouragement. 

4. Resolved, That the following persons be appointed a 
Board of Trustees to act for this Association : 

Gen. Jeremiah Johnson, Brooklyn. 
Col. Alden Spooner, do. 

Hon. Sidney Smith, Brookhaven. 
James Humphrey, Esq., Brooklyn. 
Hon. John A. King, Jamaica. 
Hon. Selah B. Strong, Brookhaven. 
Hon. Churchill C. Cambreling, Huntington. 
Benjamin F. Thompson, Esq., Hemstead. 
Hon. Dr. S. H, Lord, Greenport, Suffolk Co. 
Hon. Abram T. Rose, Sag-Harbor. 
Dr. John R. Rhinelander, Huntington. 
Samuel S. Gardiner, Esq., Shelter Island. 
Hon. Wm. T. McCoun, Oyster Bay. 
Henry W. Titus, Esq., Bellport, Suffolk Co. 
Hon. Henry Nickoll, New- York. . 

Hon. John L. Lawrence, Flushing. 
Salmon Skinner, M. D., Brooklyn. 
Hon. Caleb S. Woodhull, New- York. 
Abijah P. Cummings, Williamsburg. 
Charles Miller, M. D. do. 

Albert Woodhull, Esq., New- York. 
C. Edwards Lester, Esq., Brooklyn. 
At' a subsequent meeting the following gentlemen were 
added to the Board of Trustees : 

Hon. Henry C. Murphey, Brooklyn. 
Capt. J. Sands, U. S. N., do. 
Capt. W. L. Hudson, U. S. N., do. 
Adriance Yan Brunt Esq., do. 
Col. Samuel Hunting, Sag Harbor. 



25 

Dr. Abel Huntington, East Hampton. 
Gen. Allan McDonald, Flushing. 
George S. Phillips, Esq., Smithtown. 
Harvey Vail, Esq., Islip. 
Albert Carll, Esq., Jericho. 
Rev. John Goldsmith, Newtown. 
Gen. John R. Satterly, Setauket. 

5. Resolved^ That this Board of Trustees be clothed with 
the following powers : To elect their own officers ; to solicit 
subscriptions throughout the Island and in other places ; and, 
in consultation with the relatives and friends of Gen. Woodhull 

' and the Trustees of the Cypress Hills Cemetery, to erect his 
monument as soon as practicable. In all their meetings, five 
shall constitute a quorum, and the Board may add to their 
number. 

6. Resolved, That the Board be requested to proceed 
in this business, and finish it as soon as circumstances will 
permit ; to devise means by which, at least, all the inhabitants 
of Long Island may have an opportunity of uniting in the en- 
terprise, and to adopt all other measures which a vigorous 
prosecution of the undertaking may suggest. We also request 
the Board, in settling upon a design for this monument and its 
materials, to have an idea to strength, grandeur, simplicity and 
perpetuity, rather than to artistic beauty, or complicated design ; 
believing that such a structure will be much less expensive in 
execution, require less time for completion, and correspond bet- 
ter with the character of the heroic man to whose memory it 
will be raised. 

7. Resolved, That all Clergymen, of every name and de- 
nomination on the Island, be respectfully requested, at such 
times and in such ways as they shall deem-best, to bring this 
matter before the churches and congregations under their 
charge, and solicit their aid. We also request all our corpora- 
tions, benevolent and humane societies, magistrates and citi- 
zens, to extend to the Trustees their sanction, encouragement 
and help. And finally, in the name of our gallant and patri- 
otic Woodhull, we invite all the inhabitants of Long Island and 



26 

its vicinity, to unite with us in building a monument to our 
Revolutionary Sage and Hero, which shall perpetuate to all 
coming times his memorable virtues, and the gratitude of the 
present generation. 

Clothed with these ample prerogatives, the General Board 
of Trustees, at an early meeting, after an interesting discussion, 
proceeded to the election of officers of the Association. Gen. 
Jeremiah Johnson was, by a unanimous ballot, elected Presi- 
dent and Treasurer; Col. Alden Spooner, Secretary. The 
following Resolutions were adopted with unanimity ; 

1. Resolved, That a special Executive Committee, of 
seven persons, be appointed to carry out the objects of this 
Association, under the inspection of the Board of Trustees, 
and report at every meeting, — (the meetings of the General 
Board are held on the 1st Tuesday of every month,) — That 
this committee shall confer with the Trustees of the Cypress 
Hills Cemetery about the ground for the monument, appoint 
agencies, and make arrangements for collecting subscriptions 
and raising moneys, and erect the monument as soon as prac- 
ticable. 

2. Resolved. That all moneys'collected, shall be paid forth- 
with into the hands of the Treasurer, who shall at once deposit 
the same in such bank or banks as the Trustees shall desig- 
nate; and that no larger sum than three thousand dollars 
shall remain deposited at one time in any one bank. 

3. Resolved, That no moneys shall be drawn for any pur- 
pose, except by vote of the Trustees, and the signatures of the 
President and Secretary. 

4. Resolved, That the Treasurer shall present his bank 
book and bank account at every meeting. 

The following gentlemen were then unanimously chosen 
the executive committee of the Board of Trustees : — 

General Jeremiah Johnson, Brooklyn ; Hon. John A. King, 
Jamaica ; Hon. Caleb S. Woodhull, New- York ; Hon. John 
L. Lawrence ; Col. Alden Spooner, Brooklyn ; Benjamin F. 
Thompson, Hempstead ; C. Edwards Lester, Brooklyn. 



27 

-^ 5. Resolved^ That the design for a monument, drawn by 
Dr. H. Stone, and submitted to this meeting by Mr. Lester, 
be adopted and executed. 

The Executive Committee, conscious of the great respon- 
sibilities of so high a trust as the one confided to them, ac- 
cepted it with the cheering belief that they would meet with 
the warm encouragement and efficient aid of their fellow- 
citizens, in the accomplishment of this patriotic design ; and 
they are happy to announce, that thus far not an individual 
has been appealed to, who has not voluntarily ofiered his aid 
to the Association. Inspired by the belief, that every obstacle 
to the rapid and triumphant completion of this monument will 
give way to earnest and generous efforts, the Committee at 
their meetings, after long and careful consideration, have re- 
solved, — 

That they would raise not less than fifty thousand dollars 
for the Monument to General Woodhull, and endeavor with 
this sum to carry it up 300 feet high, and complete it during 
the year 1849. It is believed that a few words of explanation 
will convince the public that the best plan has not only been 
chosen for the Monument, but the best place selected for its 
erection. 

The place. Through the centre of Cypress Hills Cemetery 
runs a high range of hills, which commands an extensive and 
beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island with its 
cities and towns, Sandy Hook, Neversink, and a wide sweep 
over New Jersey, New- York city, with the picturesque wa- 
ters and Islands of the Bay, the North and East Rivers and 
the Sound, with the Palisades in the back-ground on the 
north. There is hardly another spot on our coast which em- 
braces so broad and magnificent a view. 

The Trustees of the Cypress Hills Cemetery have gratui- 
tously devoted an acre of ground (selected by the Executive 
Committee) to this object, and given the stone for its erection ; 
which will probably diminish by one half the cost. Thus 
with the same sum of money a Monument of nearly twice the 
height can be built. Thus, however desirous the friends of 



28 

this new Cemetery may be to embellish the beautiful spot they 
have consecrated to the final repose of the dead, (and we know 
of no desire more laudable,) the Executive Committee con- 
gratulate themselves that such extraordinary facilities have 
thus been put into their hands for the accomplishment of a 
national and patriotic design. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE MONUMENT. 



Style — A Feudal Tower of the middle ages — square — same 
size all the way up, till the flanking towers are reached, which 
project two feet on every side. 

Dimensions — 40 Feet square — 300 feet high — with six 
rooms, each 50 feet high. 

1. Room of Columbus, with a single niche,<to contain a 
statue to the Great Discoverer, underneath which a basso- 
relievo, representing the discovery. The walls of this story 
eight feet thick, leaving the room 24 feet square, lighted by 
two high narrow windows (on the north) eight inches on the 
outside and three feet on the inside. A circular stairway as- 
cending on the East side (next to the wall) to the story above 
— 50 feet up the monument. 

2. Room of the Pilgrims, with various niches for 
statues and busts ; underneath which, bas-reliefs, representing 
the embarcation and landing of the Pilgrims. The walls 
seven feet thick — the room 26 feet square ; two windows on 
the South — the stair way on the North side, 100 feet up. 

3. Room of the Cavaliers, with niches for statues or 
busts of Sir Walter Raleigh, Capt. Smith, &c. — bas-reliefs of 
the discovery of James River, &c. The walls six feet thick 
— room 28 feet square ; two windows on the West — stairway 
on the East, 150 feet up. 

4. Room of the Scholars, with niches for the early 
cultivators of Letters, and bas-reliefs for the progress of the Arts 
and Sciences, from Franklin down to the discovery of the Elec- 
tric Telegraph. The walls five feet thick — room 30 feet 
square ; two windows on the East, staircase on the South, 200 
feet up. 



30 

5. Room of Patriots and Heroes, with niches for 
Washington and his compatriots, and bas-rehefs for the scenes of 
the Revolution. Tlie walls four feet thick — room 32 feet 
square ; two windows on the South, staircase on the North, with 
a dome-light through the ceiling of thick glass, introduced 
into the floor of the room above. 

6. Room of the Astronomers. — An observatory, cover- 
ed with a movable dome. This will offer the greatest facilities 
for purposes of art, science and commerce, and be the best Ob- 
servatory in America, inconsequence of the clearness of the at- 
mosphere on Long Island, and the height to which the Obser- 
vatory is carried. The following are the advantages of this 
style of monument : 

1. It is confessedly the most impressive and durable style. 

2. It is the cheapest, for it is plain work, and made without 
any externalornament. The Association does not hope in one 
year to fill the niches, or put up the bas-reliefs. Congress 
itself hasl)een thirty years filling the niches and panels of 
the Capirbl. But individuals and societies in the different States, 
it is believed, will, from time to time, with distinguished visitors, 
contribute to these objects. 

3. It is the only style of monument known, which looks 
well at any height, as soon as it is raised higher than it is broad. 
Consequently it may be stopped whenever the contributions 
fail, and the enterprise still be successful. We shall not thus 
be exposed to failure and those long delays which have so often 
attended such undertakings and partially discouraged the Ameri- 
can people from them. If, again, our enterprise should meet 
with unexpected success, we can at any time carry the monu- 
ment up higher, or embellish it with the choicest works of art. 

4. By making the rooms so large, it is evident to all persons, 
that a vast amount is saved in expense, and to architects that 
the structure will be made more durable than it would be if 
solid. 

By order of the Executive Committee, 

ALDEN SPOONER, Secretary. 

Brooklyn, October, 1848. 



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